Reunion

They Say...

Review by Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

This live album is a byproduct of the Hollies' 1983 reunion tour with Graham Nash, mixing new songs off of the accompanying album, What Goes Around..., with their classic material. Instrumentally, lead guitarist Tony Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott (who is recorded exceptionally well) are supported by Steve Stroud (bass), Alan Coates (rhythm guitar), Pete Anderson (piano), and Paul Bliss (keyboards), who make a smoother, more polished sound; the openings of "Bus Stop" and "Just One Look," for example, are more keyboard-dominated than they ever were on the original records or any prior concert release, including the mid-'70s Hollies Live LP. Luckily, the middle sections of most of the songs better represent the band's classic sound, and there's no complaining about the singing or the harmonies. The new repertoire presented here, including "Casualty," doesn't have the staying power of the group's vintage work, and it's clear that the crowd is there to hear the oldies, not the new songs, to judge by the gradations in applause. "On a Carousel" evokes far more enthusiasm than the newer stuff -- as an added benefit of this disc, it captures the group's first performance on this tour of "King Midas in Reverse," which is everything one would wish for in delicacy and nuance, as well as radiant harmonies, and here they get the guitar sound (a mix of acoustic and low-amplification electric) exactly right. And when they do "Wasted on the Way" and "Teach Your Children," it's worth the price of the disc (as well as the price of admission -- the crowd's delight is almost palpable). The disc isn't quite essential for Hollies fans -- some of its desirability depends upon how one felt about that tour and the What Goes Around... album -- but it's extremely close to it, and shouldn't be overlooked (and CSN and Graham Nash completists will have to own it).